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While AASA鈥檚 advocacy regarding the budget reconciliation package has been laser focused on cuts to Medicaid and the creation of a national school voucher program, we wanted to flag two other issues that could impact school financing and student health and wellness.

With the passage of H.R. 1 in the House of Representatives last week, Republican lawmakers also took aim at energy tax credits that are available to school districts through elective pay.  Schools will lose out on the opportunity to modernize facilities including upgrading HVAC systems, reducing energy costs with solar or giving students a clean ride to school with electric school buses. Specifically, the bill would remove credits for solar energy systems that are not already or soon-to-be constructed, and eliminate all credits for electric vehicle and electric charging equipment, while accelerating the sunset of tax credits for highly-efficient ground-source heat pumps. To learn more about these changes, we encourage you to keep up with our friends at who are fighting aggressively to keep these credits available for school districts.

In addition, despite estimates that the bill would result in almost 3 million adults with school-age children losing access to critical nutrition benefits, the House included significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Specifically, the bill expands work requirements by raising the exemption age from 54 to 64 and narrows the definition of 鈥渄ependent children鈥� from age 18 to below age 7, which will reduce the number of parents and caregivers exempted. Additionally, the bill increases the cost to states by requiring 鈥� for the first time ever 鈥� they cover at least 5% of the cost of benefits and 75% of administrative costs (currently at 50%). The Congressional Budget Office estimates these changes will 鈥渟ave鈥� the federal government $135 billion between 2025-2034 鈥� shifting these costs to the states. If states are unable to cover these increased costs, they will likely have to reduce benefits or limit who is eligible. Decreased eligibility will directly impact schools through direct certification, which allows students who are enrolled in SNAP (and other programs) to be automatically enrolled for free school meals. Direct certification also determines eligibility for the Community Eligibility Provision that enables schools to serve healthy school meals to all students at no cost. Decreased direct certification will increase the administrative burden on schools and families to document eligibility for students and keep them enrolled in the program. It will make some districts ineligible to participate in CEP, forcing them to stop serving universal free meals and instead, revert back to the Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL) model.

Passage in the House was a major step, but the bill still faces an uphill battle in the Senate where significant revisions are expected. We will continue to update members as the bill moves through this process.